Davidson and Graham-Smith stand in matches overseas

Greg Davidson and Mike Graham-Smith travelled to South Africa and New Zealand respectively as part of the annual umpire exchange initiative.

Graham-Smith stood in the Plunkett Shield match between Wellington and Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. There he stood alongside former ICC Elite Panel member, Billy Bowden. This was Graham-Smith’s first appointment overseas and at time of travelling, had officiated in 24 First Class; 18 List A and 40 T20 domestic men’s matches. Graham-Smith first joined the Cricket Australia National Umpire Panel in 2013-14 and debuted in First-Class cricket in the Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and New South Wales in Melbourne. Earlier this season, Graham-Smith officiated in the CA Under 17 Male National Championships and fulfilled the role of on-field umpire mentor throughout the tournament.

Davidson travelled to South Africa and stood in five Momentum One-Day Cup matches. His first assignment was the fixture between the Cobras and the Titans in at the famous Newlands ground in Cape Town. There he witnessed a world record 6th wicket partnership - the Titans compiling 6/320 after slumping to 5/31. Davidson then travelled to Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Pretoria during his time. Before heading to South Africa, Davidson had 21 First Class; 18 List A and 32 T20 domestic men’s appointments to his name. He joined the CA National Umpire Panel in 2014-15 after making his First-Class debut in the Sheffield Shield match between Tasmania and Western Australia in Hobart the previous season.

The long-standing Umpire exchange initiative sees a joint venture between CA; the BCCI; Cricket South Africa and New Zealand Cricket. The exchange program between the four countries provides a number of benefits, including:-

• Travelling to and officiating in foreign conditions
• Managing unfamiliar teams at new venues
• Working with new colleagues under a different system
• Learning and adopting new Playing Conditions
• Experiencing ‘life on the road’ encountered regularly by umpires at the next level and building contacts in other countries

Earlier in the season, Shawn Craig travelled to India and stood in two fixtures in the Ranji Trophy. In late February, Australian cricket welcomed Anil Dandekar (India); Shuan Haig (New Zealand) and Arno Jacobs (South Africa) who stood in Sheffield Shield fixtures across the country.